Software Snack Bites

Brian Chambers is the Chief Architect at Chick-Fil-A, which is one of the fastest growing fast food restaurants in the US. Brian has been with Chick-Fil-A for 19 years, where the company has gone from $1B to $19B in sales (a nice 19x in 19 years). He’s seen the software architecture evolve from through various technology shifts such as datacenter to cloud, mobile, edge compute, and much more. He joins us today to talk about Chick-Fil-As architecture, how the backend technology maps to real business use cases, and how Architects approach impacting the tech stack especially as waves of technology are occurring. In this episode we talk about managing legacy and cloud systems, when to use new technology vs when to keep something running the same, real edge compute use cases, experimenting with LLMs, and many more areas. For those who are curious as to how a software org works and affects business outcomes in a large enterprise, this is the episode for you. Where to Find Brian:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-chambers* Twitter: https://twitter.com/BriChamb* Chick-Fil-A Tech Blog: https://medium.com/chick-fil-atech* Personal Blog: https://brianchambers.substack.comWhere to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.In this episode, we cover:(00:43) - Brian’s Background(02:34) - Chick-Fil-A’s Growth Over Past 19 Years from $1-$19B in Sales(05:41) - Phase Shifts in CFA’s Tech Stack (datacenter, colo, cloud, edge computing)(09:41) - Managing Fallbacks for Operationally Critical Workflows(12:07) - Balancing Legacy Systems with Modernization(19:25) - Preventing the Undisciplined Pursuit of More Technology for the Sake of It(23:49) - What is the Role of Software Architects in an Enterprise?(28:15) - How the Business Architecture & Tech Architecture Groups Collaborate(30:54) - Managing Technology Waves & How to Stay Close to New Tech(36:29) - How Storytelling Helps With Business Resource & Capital Allocation Decisions(40:48) - Simple vs Future-Proofed Technology Tradeoffs(44:12) - What is Edge Computing(46:27) - What Kubernetes on the Edge (in restaurants!) Enables(54:57) - Dealing with Downtime and Hardware Issues with Edge Compute(101:30) - LLMs in the Enterprise(105:49) - How Founders Can Sell Into Large Enterprises(110:57) - Does Vertically Packaged Software Help w/ Enterprise Sales vs Horizontal(113:16) - Favorite Technology(113:52) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* Ponderings on the Future of Edge Computing* K8s Clusters on the Restaurant Edge* How Architects Stay Relevant in Today’s Software World* Pros & Cons of Composability in Enterprise ArchitecturesHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Brian Douglas (aka Bdougie on all social platforms) is the Founder of OpenSauced, which is bringing enterprise insights and analytics to Open Source projects. He joins us today to dive into the open source ecosystem and the Developer Relations (DevRel) role. Brian was the 3rd engineer at Netlify and the 1st Developer Advocate at Github . In this episode, he talks about playbooks to create content that resonates with developers, how OSS projects can scale, and what is going on in the Jamstack ecosystem. Brian shares a ton of tangible examples from his own career of successful DevRel efforts that founders and employees can learn from to apply to their own businesses.Where to Find Brian:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianldouglas/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/bdougieYO* OpenSauced Website: https://opensauced.pizza/ * Personal Blog: https://b.dougie.dev/Where to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.In this episode, we cover:(00:46) - Brian’s Background(02:32) - Bottoms Up Strategy to Engaging Developers(06:30) - Dev Rel for Github Actions from Launch(09:48) - Starting OpenSauced to Bring Insights to Open Source Teams(12:01) - Signs of Open Source Traction(13:48) - What is the Dev Rel role(17:25) - Depth vs Breadth in Scaling a Developer Community(19:40) - Dev Rel Tactics & Systems Without a Large Existing Following(24:03) - Measuring Engagement as the Core Metric of Dev Rel(25:44) - Where Does Dev Rel Go Wrong(30:39) - Durability and Stickiness in the JAMstack Ecosystem(34:42) - On-Ramps and Enterprise Features in the JAMstack Space(36:45) - Favorite Technology/App(37:42) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* 30 Days of OpenAI* bdougie Tiktok* OpenSauced YouTube Videos* Finding Good First Issues on GithubHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Steve Manuel is the Co-Founder & CEO of Dylibso, which is creating developer tools to take WebAssembly to production. Matt Butcher is the Co-Founder & CEO of Fermyon which is building a cloud product to deploy & manage WebAssembly apps faster than existing cloud solutions. In this talk, both founders talk about why they are excited to build in the WebAssembly ecosystem, why Wasm is going to enable developers to have superpowers as the Wasm standards mature, and current companies & use cases that WebAssembly enables today. This episode strikes a great balance of giving a high level overview of why the technology is so compelling while also going deeper for developers interested in using Wasm in the near term.Where to Find Steve:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemanuel/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/nilslice* Blog: https://dylibso.com/blog/* Github: https://github.com/extism/extism* Company Website: https://dylibso.com/Where to Find Matt:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbutcher/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/technosophos* Blog: https://www.fermyon.com/blog/index* Github: https://github.com/fermyon/spin* Company Website: https://www.fermyon.com/Where to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.In this episode, we cover:(00:47) - Matt & Fermyon’s Background(03:13) - Steve & Dylibso’s Background(05:26) - Primer on What WebAssembly Actually Is(10:20) - How Wasm Bundles Benefits of Security, Observability, and Startup Speed(12:33) - How Standards are Rapidly Improving to Improve Wasm Use(14:00) - What Use Cases Wasm is Not a Fit For(16:22) - Companies Using Wasm in Production for Various Use Cases (Shopify, Disney+)(29:49) - Containers & WebAssembly (Friends or Foe?)(34:50) - WebAssembly & Kubernetes (Friends or Foe?)(40:00) - How Can Companies Start to Use Wasm Within Legacy Systems(44:44) - Why Adoption is Rapidly Accelerating(52:29) - What Could Prevent the Wasm Ecosystem from Realizing It’s Vision(56:05) - Favorite Technology/App(58:00) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* Postgres Wasm by Snaplet and Supabase* Fermyon’s Language Support Tracker for Wasm* Dylibso’s Launch Blog Post* Solomon’s (Co-Founder of Docker) Infamous Tweet on Wasm* Kelsey Hightower’s Tweet on Wasm Interoperating with Kubernetes* How ZigLang Used Wasm to Eliminate 80k Lines of Legacy CodeHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google or any podcast player. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Doug O’Laughlin is the Founder of Fabricated Knowledge, one of the largest technology newsletters on Substack, covering the semiconductor industry. Many may know Doug from his anonymous Twitter. He joins us today to dive deep into the semiconductor industry. Doug takes an immensely complex industry in semis and distills everything down into digestible analogies regarding semiconductor manufacturing and the actual chips themselves. Doug specifically addresses how certain semi industry areas have significant moats, how the rise of LLMs is all linked to more chips being used, what public companies are well-positioned for the future of semis. Simply put, this is the best explainer I’ve ever heard or read about the semiconductor industry to understand what’s powering all the applications and devices we use daily under the hood.Where to Find Doug:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougolaughlin/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoolAllTheTime* Semiconductor Blog: https://www.fabricatedknowledge.com* Personal Blog: https://mulesmusings.substack.comWhere to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.In this episode, we cover:(01:05) - Doug’s Background(03:08) - How to Build Sector Expertise from Scratch(04:37) - Why Moore’s Law is Dead and It’s Effect on the Semi Industry(08:03) - Heterogenous Compute is the Next Paradigm Shift No One Is Talking About(09:34) - Why Chip Specialization is Increasing(13:12) - Understanding the Whole Semiconductor Supply Chain with a Restaurant Analogy(20:51) - Where are Company Moats in the Semi Supply Chain(26:54) - What are the Different Types of Chips (ASICs, CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs) and Why Do They Exist(32:08) - The “DevOpsification” of Chips (i.e. specialized micro services)(36:09) - LLMs (AI) and Semis Role in Powering the Tech Forward(40:49) - Potential Reasons (Bear Case) for why Chip Usage May Slow(43:05) - Tying Specialized Software to Chips - Nvidia’s Vertical Strategy(47:45) - Favorite Technology/App(49:09) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* Heterogenous Compute: The Paradigm Shift No One is Talking About* Tech Monopolies Go Vertical* The Rising Tide of Semiconductor Cost* Semiconductor Blog: https://www.fabricatedknowledge.comHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Jamin Ball is a Partner at Altimeter Capital and previously at Redpoint Ventures. He joins us today to share learnings about cloud metrics and seat based vs consumption based pricing. Jamin shares specific thoughts on cloud data infrastructure, why cloud optimization goes in cycles, and how Altimeter invests through business cycles in essential long-term businesses. We also cover the macro environment that founders should be aware of, trends in inflation, and how it affects businesses.Where to Find Jamin:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamin-ball-49366137/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaminball* Personal Blog: https://cloudedjudgement.substack.comWhere to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.In this episode, we cover:(00:25) - Jamin’s Background(03:14) - Learnings from Altimeter About Investing in Essentialism(08:56) - Learnings from Studying Public Companies & Cloud Metrics(13:41) - Why Top 10 Highly Valued Public Companies Have Been Mostly Infra(16:55) - Seat Based vs Consumption Pricing(24:21) - Jamin’s Focus on Cloud Data Infra and the Trends Behind It(27:11) - The Macro Environment Overview(35:53) - Why Founders Should Be Macro Aware, Micro Obssessed(40:49) - The Private Investor Viewpoint for Founders to Keep In Mind(45:10) - Favorite Techology/App(47:06) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* Jamin’s Twitter Thread on Cloud Data Infra Trends* Jamin’s Twitter Thread on Shifting from Subscription to Usage Based PricingHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Emilio Escobar is the CISO of Datadog and before that previously VP Security at Hulu and Application Security lead at Sony Playstation. He joins us today to share learnings from running security at various companies, tips for security founders to distinguish themselves from the rest of the noise, and how internal security works at enterprises. Emilio shares specific tips on how he structures security orgs and makes it so that security can be an enabler to the business. We also cover why security teams should be called Trust & Safety teams instead and the pitfalls that exist within the current security industry. This episode contains learnings for founders, security leaders, and general listeners who are curious how security works in large companies.Where to Find Emilio:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilioesc/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/eaescob* Personal Blog: https://emilioe.substack.comWhere to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, SpotifyIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) - Emilio’s Background, Learnings & Journey to Becoming a CISO(07:21) - Balancing Internal Security & Selling External Security Products(11:48) - Managing Cloud & Zero Trust Security (Why Zero Trust is a Buzzword)(16:49) - Differences between Security At Datadog, Hulu & Sony Playstation(23:50) - Structuring an Effective Security Org Without a SOC (Security Operations Center)(27:11) - How Security Companies & Products Can Break Through the Noise(31:03) - When Top Down Security Decisions Are Made and How(33:39) - What Operating at the “Highest Level of Acceptable Risk” Means(38:42) - Humans in the Loop & Why Classic Security Training Isn’t All That Helpful(42:45) - How Shadow IT is an Internal NPS Score(45:48) - Why Security Teams Should Be Called Trust & Safety Teams(48:12) - Favorite New Technology/App(50:08) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* Emilio’s Writing on Having a Trust & Safety Mindset* Emilio’s Writing on How Security Products Can Stand Out from the Noise* Last of Us Show on HBOHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Welcome to Software Snack Bites the Podcast! This podcast will be an exploration of all things enterprise software from technology trend deep dives, to company building, to enterprise purchase decisions. Damian Schenkelman was Employee 10 at Auth0 and has played multiple roles in the company from early engineer, to first Director of Engineering, to Principal Architect at Okta/Auth0 Lab which is exploring new products in the auth space. He is also an angel investor and advisor to numerous startups and is happy to help any founders who reach out! He joins us today to share the journey of Auth0 from the beginning and how early decisions on things like supporting on-prem and cloud customers can impact a company in the long term. We talk about the differences between being an individual contributor and a manager and also cover topics related to scaling reliability, tradeoffs between microservices & monoliths, and how phase shifts in a company lead to needing to build and codify new decision making frameworks over time. There are numerous insights in here for companies in the early stage and also at scale as to how to avoid potential pitfalls and grow with their customers. For those who don’t know, Auth0 was acquired by Okta for $6.5B in 2020.Please subscribe directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help support the show!Where to Find Damian:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianschenkelman/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/dschenkelman* Personal Blog: https://yenkel.dev/Where to Find Shomik:* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.comIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) - Damian’s Background(01:30) - What Auth0 Does & What is Authentication and Authorization(07:43) - Why Auth0 Focused on Developers from Day One(10:15) - Signing the First Customers(14:43) - Tradoffs Between On-Prem and Cloud Customers(19:06) - Becoming Director of Engineering(24:05) - Returning Back to Being an Individual Contributor(27:40) - Leading the Platform Eng Team to Increase Reliability & Scalability(36:56) - Dealing with Phase Shifts in Auth0 as the Company Scaled(40:30) - Improving Alignment Between Eng Teams(44:51) - Working on New Products at Auth0 Lab(49:20) - Favorite New Technology(50:43) - Favorite SnackAdditional Show Notes:* Excellent Written Interview about Damian’s Experience: https://staffeng.com/stories/damian-schenkelman* Damian’s Auth0 Podcast Series that Goes Deep into Auth Topics: https://authorizationinsoftware.auth0.com/public/49/Authorization-in-Software-f9b69587* Auth0 Lab’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/auth0labHow to Subscribe:Available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com

Welcome to Software Snack Bites the Podcast! This podcast will be an exploration of all things enterprise software from technology trend deep dives, to company building, to enterprise purchase decisions. This episode is a short quick Teaser describing what future episodes will cover!* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com